Australian Stock Market Report – Morning August 22, 2014

* In US economic data, weekly claims for unemployment insurance fell by 14,000 to 298,000, below forecasts for a result near300,000.

The leading index rose by 0.9% in July, above forecasts for a 0.6% gain. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve index rose from 23.9 to 28.0 in August, above forecasts for a result near +19.2. And existing home sales rose by 2.4% in July to 5.15 million, above forecasts for a result near 5.02 million.

* European shares rose on Thursday with investors comforted by the latest reading on the German economy. The flash composite purchasing managers index eased from 55.7 to 54.9 in August, still above the 50 mark that separates contraction from expansion. The FTSEurofirst 300 index lifted by 0.7% with the German Dax up 0.9% and the UK FTSE gained 0.3%. Australia's major miners were lower in London trade with shares in BHP Billiton down by0.4% while Rio Tinto lost 0.7%.

* US sharemarketsrose on Thursday with investors encouraged by the latest economic data. However investors awaited the start of a meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Shares in

Bank of America rose by 4.2% after reaching a $16.65 billion legal settlement with the US Government. Shares in Hewlett Packard rose by 5.4% in response to figures showing higher revenues in the latest quarter. The Dow Jones index rose by 61 points or 0.4% with the S&P 500 index up by 0.3% to record highs while the Nasdaq gained 5.6 points or 0.1% to 14-year highs.

* US treasury pricesrose on Thursday (yields lower) as traders positioned ahead of a key speech from the Federal Reserve chair.

US 2 year yields fell by 1 point to 0.472% while US 10 year yields fell by 3 points to 2.405%.

* The Euro and commodity currencies rose against the US dollar over European and US sessions on Thursday. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.3245 to around US$1.3285, ending US trade near the highs. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US92.50c to US93.05c before ending the US session close to US93.00c. And the Japanese yen held between 103.61 yen per US dollar and

JPY103.88, ending US trade near JPY103.79.

* World oil prices ended mixed on Thursday. Investors mulled mixed economic data in the US and China as well as news thatSaud Arabia pumped 10 million barrels per day of crude in July.Brent crude rose by US35 cents to US$102.63 a barrel but the US Nymex price fell on contract expiry, down by US51c a barrel or 0.5% to US$93.96 a barrel.

* Base metal prices were mixed on Thursday with zinc and copper up around 0.1% while other metals fell up to 1% with tin leading the way. Gold prices fell again on Thursday, hitting a 2-month low, with the Comex gold futures quote down by US$19.80 or 1.5% to US$1,275.40 per ounce. Iron ore fell by US40c on Thursday to US$91.90 a tonne.

Ahead: In Australia, no major economic data is scheduled. In the US, the Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen delivers a speech.

[Kick off your trading day with our newsletter]